Beginning of the Universe as described by the Holy Quran and the Modern Science is similar
Let me start directly from the Holy Quran.
The Holy Quran states in Chapter 21 (Surah Anbiya), Verse 30:
“Did the non-believers not see that the sky and earth were one and Allah separated them.”
Allah says that initially skies and earth were not separated (were a single mass) and He separated them (by force).
The words sky and earth are used for the whole universe because according to the knowledge of those days (when the Holy Quran was revealed), only these two constituted the kainat (universe).
Some persons, for the sake of argument, may ask that the earth is nearly 9 billion years younger than the universe, how could they be together. The answer is that the message had to be understandable for the recipients so only those words were used which were well known.
It must also be noted that although the earth is much younger, it was a consequence of that explosion or separation which we now know as Big Bang.
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Now let us look at the theory of the Bing Bang which is universally accepted as the beginning of the universe.
Big Bang happened 13.9 billion years ago.
The scientists who proposed it got the Nobel prize in 1978 fouteen years after their description.
In 1964, American physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson wrote:
“there was a primary nebula, then a Big Bang occurred and as a result galaxies and stars were formed.”
The theory of Bing Bang was not accepted until CMB (cosmic microwave background) was detected.
It is the landmark evidence of the Big Bang theory for the origin of the universe.
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered it in 1964.
This confirmed the statement of the Holy Quran in the above-mentioned verse (Verse 30).
It is astonishing because in the days of the revelation (more than 1400 years ago) of the Holy Quran,
the only knowledge about the universe available beyond the earth was the presence of the sky and the
stars studded on it.
No human could have imagined about the Big Bang.
So, it can only be the divine information sent by the creator Himself.
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Now let us have a scientific look at the event of Big Bang. According to the above-mentioned scientists there was a primary nebula when Big Bang occurred.
A nebula is a giant cloud of dust and gas in space.
About two hundred thousand billion years ago there was no universe (Ref 1).
But there was matter in the form of electrons and protons which was evenly distributed and this matter was in a state of equilibirium with no movement (Ref 1).
The question arises that how the galaxies and stars were formed from dust and gas?
It is assumed that overtime, the mass produced after Big Bang slowly condensed into stars and
galaxies which started to merge.
This is the timeline of the events after Big Bang.
You can see that nuclear fusion started within seconds after the Big Bang but lasted for about 1000 years.
After another 2000 years cosmic microwave background was generated.
The cosmic microwave background (CMB, CMBR) is microwave radiation that fills all the space in the observable universe.
It is a remnant that provides an important source of data on the primordial universe.
It was followed by formation of stars and galaxies after 100 million years.
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These are a couple of examples of persons who converted to Islam after reading this verse:
Dr Gary Miller:
He was a Canadian Christian missionary who tried to find errors in the Holy Quran. But when he read this Verse, he was shocked and immediately accepted Islam. His Islamic name is Abdul-Ahad Omar. Being a mathematician (PhD) by profession, he is now a notable figure for his work on the scientific and mathematical aspects of the Holy Quran.
Prof. Alfred Kroner:
He was a German scientist known for his unique journey to Islam and his admiration for the scientific and mathematical precision he found in the Holy Quran. His conversion to Islam was motivated by this Verse and Verses 12-14 of Chapter 23 Surah Al Mumenoon which describes the development of the human embryo.
References:
- D. and Wiegert.T. :Andromeda and Milky Way galaxies are merging. Earthsky: March 2, 2022.
Note: This content is also available as a Vlog on my you tube channel “Awaz e dost Dr. Abdul Haque” entitled “The verses of the Holy Quran related to Universe: Creation of Universe, Big Bang.”